Roof gutter having an integrated sprinkler system

ABSTRACT

A gutter adjacent to a roof of a building is provided. The gutter includes a base in which water running from the roof can be contained therein. One edge of the gutter has a conduit where pressurized water may flow through. The conduit has perforations along its length and is connectable to a supply of pressurized water. When commanded, water from the supply sprays through the perforations and onto the roof of the building, thus creating an integrated sprinkler system along the length of roof gutter for spraying water onto the roof.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to Australian Provisional Patent Application No. 2014900710 filed Feb. 28, 2014, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated in its entirety by reference herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to a roof gutter having an integrated sprinkler system for spraying water onto the roof of a building.

BACKGROUND

The following descriptions are provided to assist the reader to understand the relevance of the invention. However the background art is not intended and do not of themselves provide any admission by the applicant that they are published as may be required for an assessment of novelty or obviousness or are common general knowledge according to the laws of and in any particular country in the world.

In areas that experience high temperatures it may be necessary to wet and cool the roofs of buildings for safety or even comfort reasons. For example a house under threat of a bush fire may have a reduced risk of being burnt if the roof has been sprayed with water. Another example is a shed containing hay or other combustible material may have a reduced risk of the material combusting during extreme heat if the roof has been cooled by being sprayed with water.

There exists sprinkler systems for roofs of buildings. One such example is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,083,618.

A problem with existing sprinkler systems for roofs is that they are complex, cumbersome and generally not aesthetic.

Thus at least one object of this invention is to provide a sprinkler system for the roof of a building that at least partially alleviates the disadvantages of the currently available arrangements

SUMMARY

In one form of this invention although this need not be the only or indeed the broadest of this, there is a roof gutter having an integrated sprinkler system for spraying water onto the roof of a building.

Thus in a first aspect of the invention there is provided a length of roof gutter, where said gutter includes;

a base, a near side of the gutter to be located near or adjacent to the edge of a roof of a building, a far side of the gutter to be located at a distance from the edge of a roof of a gutter, where water that flows off the roof of the building may be contained within the base, and sides of the gutter, characterised in that; the edge of the far side of the gutter is rolled to form a conduit where water under pressure may flow through, where said conduit is connectable to a supply of water under pressure and contains perforations, said perforations being positioned along the length of the conduit, such that when the roof gutter is located adjacent to a roof a flow of water under pressure can spray through the perforations of the conduit onto the roof of the building, thus creating a length of roof gutter having an integrated sprinkler system for spraying water onto the roof of a building.

The cross section of the base and sides forming the length of the gutter may be any shape that is known in the trade such as curved or rectangular or square. Types of gutters that could be used are the Quad, D, OG, Half round or VC. The D gutter is considered preferable.

The material used to make the gutter may be any that is commonly used in the trade, such as metal or a polymer material. All that is required of the material is that the edge of the far side of the gutter can be rolled to form the conduit and that perforations can be made along the length of the conduit to form a sprinkler.

The cross section of the conduit may be of any shape, but it is envisioned that a circular cross section would be the most simple to manufacture. Where the cross section of the conduit is circular, the diameter of the conduit would be about 10 to 14 mm.

When the edge of the gutter is rolled to form the conduit, the edge will be adjacent to the side wall of the gutter. Preferably the edge should be sealed against the side of the gutter to prevent water leaking through any gaps. This may be achieved through using sealants or welds along the rolled over gutter edge as is well known in the trade. If the gutter and conduit are made using extrusion methods then the length of the conduit formed may be made sealed by the design of the extrusion mould.

The perforations along the conduit used to form the sprinkler may be any shape that effectively produces the desired spray of water onto the roof of the building. The perforations may be punched or drilled holes, vertical, angled or horizontal slits, or even jets may be attached to the perforations. In one example the perforations would be angled at about 45 degrees, but the angle may change for individual buildings depending upon such factors as building size, roof pitch, and the pressure of the available water supply.

The water supply connection to the conduit to provide the flow of water under pressure may be any that is well known in the trade. The connection may be made via a garden hose, or hard plumbed to the conduit.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of the invention, further description will now be given, with reference to drawings in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view showing a section of the roof gutter of the current invention.

FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrates a cross section view of the rolled edge forming the conduit and a perspective view of the rolled edge forming the conduit.

FIG. 4 illustrates a downspout connected to the gutter and a means for blocking the downspout.

FIG. 5 illustrates a schematic of a control strategy for controlling the means for blocking the downspout.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows the roof gutter having a base (6), a near side (7), a far side (1), that has been rolled to form a conduit (3), sealed along the edge with a sealant (4) connectable to a water under pressure supply (5) and perforations (2) along the length of the conduit to form a sprinkler

FIGS. 2 and 3 show two more detailed views (perspective and cross section) of the far side of the gutter (1) rolled to form the conduit (3), having the sealant (4) along the edge, the perforations (2) to form the sprinkler, and the connectable water supply (5).

As can be seen by the figures, the invention provides a simple, discreet and elegant solution by having a roof gutter integrated with a sprinkler system.

There are no ugly sprinklers mounted to a roof or unsightly gadgets hanging off downpipes.

The water supply connectable to the gutter conduit can be via the garden hose or directly plumbed.

In operation when water flows through the conduit the water will be expelled through the perforations to form a water spray that will spray onto the roof wetting and cooling the roof. Where the gutter has an end plate, the conduit end will also be sealed with a plug or some other means known in the trade. The plug can be a separate piece or part of the gutter end plate and sealed with a sealant.

Activating the water supply to flow through the conduit to spray on the roof may be done manually such as simply turning on a tap connected to the conduit via a hose or pipes. Or the activation may be done automatically based on temperature or humidity using heat or humidity sensors. It is even possible the water supply could be activated remotely by for example using a programme connected to a phone or a computer. This electronic technology and associated hardware is readily available to the trade.

In one option of the invention, particular for areas where there is a risk of external fires, such as bush fires, the invention may further include a means for closing the down pipes 9 of the roof gutters, such that the water sprayed from the conduit onto the roof can be collected in the gutter creating a reservoir to help keep the fire from the house. Once the gutters are full, the excess water may flow over the gutters onto the ground. The waterfall effect, wet ground, full gutters and spraying water on the roof all assist in reducing the risk of a fire being able to gain access to the building.

One such means for closing the down pipes of the roof gutters, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, can include a valve 10, such as a ball valve or butterfly valve. The valve can be manually controlled, or can be actuated by an actuator 11 connected to at least one controller 12. The controller can be connected to smoke detectors 13 in the building, or the temperature or humidity sensors 14, 15 described above. Based on signals indicating a possible fire, the actuator can be commanded to close the valve to block the down pipes of the roof gutters, allowing collected water to flow over the gutters.

As with activating the water supply, the blocking of the down pipes to create the reservoir in the gutter, may be activated manually, automatically or remotely. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A length of roof gutter, where said gutter includes; a base, a near side of the gutter to be located near or adjacent to the edge of a roof of a building, a far side of the gutter to be located at a distance from the edge of a roof of a gutter, where water that may flow off the roof of the building may be contained within the base and sides of the gutter, characterised in that; the edge of the far side of the gutter is rolled to form a conduit where water under pressure may flow through, where said conduit is connectable to a supply of water under pressure, and where said conduit contains perforations, said perforations being positioned along the length of the conduit, such that when the roof gutter is located adjacent to a roof a flow of water under pressure can spray through the perforations of the conduit onto the roof of the building, creating a length of roof gutter having an integrated sprinkler system for spraying water onto the roof of a building.
 2. The roof gutter of claim 1 where the edge of the gutter adjacent the gutter side wall forming the conduit is sealed with a sealant.
 3. The roof gutter of claim 1 having down pipes where said down pipes include a means to be blocked. 